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At this time of year we like to indulge ourselves with as many delicious chills as we can. To this end we’ve been taking a look at some spooky iPhotography.
We have found 10 creepy iPhone photographs that made the hair stand up on the back of our necks! ~ Dean Kosage
Fancy a slow stroll along the river? We don’t either.
Just don’t drop your room key.
Irrespective of rational thought, graveyards are creepy.
“If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise.”
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It’s nearly Halloween again and you know what that means: candy, costumes, and carving pumpkins. This year, social media has taken the world by storm with huge acquisitions, traditional media recognition, and thanks to Twitter, news at lightning speed. What better way to pay homage to social media than via a carved pumpkin?
I’ve compiled 11 great social-media-inspired pumpkins to get some ideas flowing this Holloween. ~ Dean Kosage
Feel free to share your favorites and your own ideas in the comments below.
Twitter’s frequent bouts of downtime, though less frequent in recent months, have almost become part of the expected user experience for the site, and their iconic “fail whale” has become part of pop culture.
Source: Scott B. on Flickr
Firefox recently won our web browser faceoff against Google Chrome rather handily, so we can understand why someone would want to make a Firefox pumpkin. But why spend time carving an Internet Explorer pumpkin? On the other hand, IE is pretty scary…
Source: CyberNet News
You have to be a real fanatic to carve not just a pumpkin homage to Digg, but one that includes the likenesses of Diggnation hosts Alex Albrecht and Kevin Rose, as well. Still, these two are very impressive, if a little creepy for their stalker qualities.
Source: Tutorialized
Reddit’s mascot really lends itself to Halloween. The cute little alien character looks great on a pumpkin, as these two prime examples above illustrate.
Source:Robert Balousek and inecather on Flickr
Even though some people think that RSS is dying and social media is usurping its role in the way we discover and consume news, RSS is still the dominant method that most of us use to keep on top of web site updates. Many people use RSS without even knowing it, via personal aggregator sites like MyYahoo! or iGoogle.
Source: jsiarto on Flickr
Apple has had one heck of a year. They released a new phone, the iPhone 3G S that comes with a built in video camera, and then proceeded to sell 7.4 million iPhones in the last quarter. Oh, and there are these persistent rumors that this tablet computer thing is in the works, too.
Source: RipFire on Flickr
The 2.0 version of Google’s free and open source mobile operating system is on its way, and with it the Motorola Droid, which many feel will be the first phone to really potentially challenge the iPhone’s smartphone dominance. Like Reddit’s, Android’s mascot looks pretty great adorning a pumpkin.
Source: David Watson on Flickr
WordPress won 87% of the vote in our faceoff with TypePad for blogging platform supremacy. ‘Nuff said.
Source: Eric M Martin on Flickr
Plaxo hasn’t been in the news too much lately, but their Plaxo Pulse software remains a good social stream aggregator and content sharing platform.
Source: Plaxo on Flickr
It’s a great Internet success story: two guys take a couple hundred bucks and build a multi-million dollar t-shirt empire by relying on crowdsourced designs and customer voting. And this year they launched Twitter Tees, giving us a reason to like them even more.
Source: cshimala on Flickr
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Most startups fail, but a great founder can even transform an unlikely idea into a successful business. Don’t be discouraged if you’re unable to quickly and exactly mirror successful investors. Their strategies have most likely been developed over time; and they have learned from their own mistakes. ~ Dean Kosage
If you think you have what it takes to invest in startups, but are unsure of where to target your first seed investment, it may be worth your time to profile some other successful angel investors. By studying their strategy, the types of investments in their portfolio and the trajectory of their investments over time, you will start to develop your own strategy that works with your pace and desired investment outcome.
Below I summarize the strategies of some of the most successful angel investors, which should help as you start to build your own investment strategy and begin looking for the next big opportunities.
Ron Conway is probably the best known and most successful angel investor in recent time. He has invested in some of the most successful companies in the past 10 years. Conway has focused his investing strategy on early stage, high-tech companies, and continues to examine current social, social commerce and mobile markets.
The most important factor for Conway is the team. “We start with the people first. We think the ideas that entrepreneurs start with evolve and change dramatically from the beginning and sometimes end up unrecognizable, so we believe in investing in the people,” he says.
Conway makes a lot of small investments too, a tactic commonly known in the industry as the “spray and pray” strategy. He is then able to make additional investments in the companies that perform the best. Since he invests in most of the best early stage startups, and is able to spread his money around, only a portion of his portfolio needs to succeed for him to continue earning.
When Conway makes an investment, he doesn’t worry as much as the typical investor about the valuation he is getting. He has publicly offered startups convertible debt with no cap, which is very favorable to the startup. When he is investing at a seed level, it doesn’t matter if the company is valued at $3 million or $5 million — when you are looking for the big exit, the end result doesn’t change that much.
An investment from Conway doesn’t guarantee your startup will have a successful exit, but because his network is extensive, his investments certainly catch attention of a wide group of potential investors interested in getting on board.
As far as angel investors go, Reid Hoffman ranks right up there with Ron Conway in terms of number of deals and successful exits. He is the CEO and founder of LinkedIn and has invested in Facebook, Zynga, Flickr and others.
Hoffman is very interested in web 2.0 companies whose innovative ideas can reach millions of users and scale efficiently, and looks for three things when he is investing in a startup:
Sacca started angel investing in Photobucket when he was first at Google. Since then he has gone on to create his own fund and invest in companies like Twitter and Instagram.
Sacca will invest in seed and early stage technology companies, as well as secondary transactions from founders who are looking to sell shares for liquidity. As simple as it sounds, he looks for products that consumers want. This can be demonstrated by his investment in Turntable.fm. He recognized early that users would become engaged and spend a lot of time on the site.
He plays an active role in the companies in which he invests by becoming an advisor, further ensuring the brands continue their successful trajectories.
Dixon is the co-founder of Hunch and also invests through his founder collective fund. He has made investments in companies like Skype and Milo, and in 2010 was named by Businessweek as the number-one investor in tech.
Dixon almost exclusively invests in seed stage deals and looks for high-tech startups, but also invests in industries outside high tech to diversify the risk. When he looks at a company he is not only looking at the technology, but also at the team involved. He will ask people who know the founders what they think of them to get “Social Proof” before making an investment.
“That is the most important aspect to the investment,” says Dixon, “The environment changes, you discover flaws in your original concept, and good entrepreneurs adapt and change. The only way you would’ve seen it is if you’d understood the passion and guts of the people involved.”
Thiel is one of the co-founders of Paypal and was the CEO of the company before it was acquired by eBay. His most famous and successful investment to date was a $500,000 investment in Facebook for 10% of the company. He has also made investments in LinkedIn, Friendster and Yelp.
Peter believes that the best predictor of a startup’s success is how much the CEO is paid. The larger his salary, the more likely everyone else is paid high, and therefore, the faster you’ll burn through money. If the CEO is paid less than average, it more likely his interest will line up with the equity shareholders.
Additionally, Thiel has also recently given 20 kids under age 20 $100,000 to pursue innovative scientific and technical projects. It is clear that Thiel believes the millennial generation encompasses the visionaries of the future.
Before becoming an angel investor turned VC, Maples was an entrepreneur and co-founder of Motive Inc. After he left his corporate gig, Maples decided to make angel investments with his own money. He was very successful, and soon created his own fund to invest other people’s money.
Maples prefers to invest in startups that have low capital requirements, meaning that a company won’t need tens of millions to succeed and prove its model. To Maples, one of the most important qualities for a startup company is a solid team.
His first investment was in Odeo, founded by Evan Williams. When Odeo was failing, Williams tried to give Maples his money back, but Maples believed in him and asked Williams to invest that money in his next venture. That venture was Twitter, and you all know that story.
While Kutcher hasn’t been investing for that long (approximately four years), he has made several high profile investments already, including Flipboard, AirBnB, Skype, Zaarly and about 40 others. He now makes most of his ventures through his partnership fund, A Grade Investments.
Kutcher can add a lot of value when he invests; his social reach includes 7.5 million Twitter followers. When he looks at a startup he tries to understand what problem it is solving, and how many people are in the market for that particular solution. He also believes that you are investing in the founders more than anything, so having confidence and trust in them is a big factor when taking an investment leap.
If you are interested in investing in startups and want to mimic the pros, examine the factors that, according to them, foresee a successful business.
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After hitting on a brilliant new life plan, our first instinct is to tell someone — but Derek Sivers says it’s better to keep your goals a secret. He presents research stretching as far back as the 1920s to show why people who talk about their ambitions may be less likely to achieve them.
DEREK SILVERS: KEEP YOUR GOALS TO YOURSELF (VIDEO)
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“A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” But, becoming a great leader isn’t easy. Successfully maneuvering a team through the ups and downs of starting a new business can be one of the greatest challenges a small-business owner faces.
Leadership is one of the areas that many entrepreneurs tend to overlook, according leadership coach John C. Maxwell, whose books include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (Thomas Nelson, 1998) and Developing the Leader Within You (Thomas Nelson, 1993).
“You work hard to develop your product or service. You fight to solve your financial issues. You go out and promote your business and sell your product. But you don’t think enough about leading your own people and finding the best staff,” Maxwell says.
It turns out, the skills and talents necessary to guide your team in the right direction can be simple, and anyone with the determination can develop them. Here’s a list of 10 tips drawn from the secrets of successful leaders.
1. Assemble a dedicated team.
Your team needs to be committed to you and the business. Successful entrepreneurs have not only social and selling smarts, but also the know-how to hire effectively, says leadership trainer Harvey Mackay, who wrote Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive (Ivy Books, 1995). “A colossal business idea simply isn’t enough. You have to be able to identify, attract and retain talent who can turn your concept into a register-ringing success,” he says.
When putting your team together, look for people whose values are aligned with the purpose and mission of your company. Suzanne Bates, a Wellesley, Mass.-based leadership consultant and author of Speak Like a CEO (McGraw Hill, 2005), says her team members rallied around each other during the worst part of the recession because they all believed in what they were doing. “Having people on your team who have tenacity and a candid spirit is really important,” she says.
2. Overcommunicate.
This one’s a biggie. Even with a staff of only five or 10, it can be tough to know what’s going on with everyone. In an effort to overcommunicate, Bates compiles a weekly news update she calls a Friday Forecast, and emails it to her staff. “My team is always surprised at all the good news I send out each week,” Bates says. “It makes everyone feel like you really have a lot of momentum, even in difficult times.”
3. Don’t assume.
When you run a small business, you might assume your team understands your goals and mission — and they may. But, everybody needs to be reminded of where the company’s going and what things will look like when you get there. Your employees may ask, “What’s in it for me?” It’s important to paint that picture for your team. Take the time to really understand the people who are helping you build your business.
“Entrepreneurs have the vision, the energy, and they’re out there trying to make it happen. But, so often with their staff, they are assuming too much,” says Beverly Flaxington, founder of The Collaborative, a business-advising company in Medfield, Mass. “It’s almost like they think their enthusiasm by extension will be infectious — but it’s not. You have to bring people into your world and communicate really proactively.”
4. Be authentic.
Good leaders instill their personality and beliefs into the fabric of their organization, Flaxington says. If you be yourself, and not try to act like someone else, and surround yourself with people who are aligned with your values, your business is more likely to succeed, she says.
“Every business is different and every entrepreneur has her own personality,” Flaxington says. “If you’re authentic, you attract the right people to your organization — employees and customers.”
5. Know your obstacles.
Most entrepreneurs are optimistic and certain that they’re driving toward their goals. But, Flaxington says, it’s a short-sighted leader who doesn’t take the time to understand his obstacles.
“You need to know what you’re up against and be able to plan around those things,” she says. “It’s folly to think that just because you’ve got this energy and enthusiasm that you’re going to be able to conquer all. It’s much smarter to take a step back and figure out what your obstacles are, so the plan that you’re putting into place takes that into account.”
6. Create a ‘team charter.’
Too many new teams race down the road before they even figure out who they are, where they’re going, and what will guide their journey, says Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-Minute Manager (William Morrow & Co., 1982) and founder of The Ken Blanchard Cos., a workplace- and leadership-training firm. Just calling together a team and giving them a clear charge does not mean the team will succeed.
“It’s important to create a set of agreements that clearly states what the team is to accomplish, why it is important and how the team will work together to achieve the desired results,” says Blanchard, who is based in Escondido, Calif. “The charter provides a record of common agreements and can be modified as the business grows and the team’s needs change.”
7. Believe in your people.
Entrepreneurial leaders must help their people develop confidence, especially during tough times. As Napoleon Bonaparte said, “Leaders are dealers in hope.” That confidence comes in part from believing in your team, says Maxwell, who is based in West Palm Beach, Fla. “I think of my people as 10s, I treat them like 10s, and as a result, they try to perform like 10s,” he says. “But believing in people alone isn’t enough. You have to help them win.”
8. Dole out credit.
Mackay says a good salesperson knows what the sweetest sound in the world is: The sound of their name on someone else’s lips. But too many entrepreneurs think it’s either the crinkle of freshly minted currency, or the dull thud of a competitor’s body hitting the pavement.
“Many entrepreneurs are too in love with their own ideas and don’t know how to distribute credit,” Mackay says. “A good quarterback always gives props to his offensive line.”
9. Keep your team engaged.
Great leaders give their teams challenges and get them excited about them, says leadership expert Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Free Press, 1989). He pointed to the example of a small pizza shop in a moderate-sized town that was killing a big fast-food chain in sales. The big difference between the chain and the small pizza joint was the leader, he says.
Every week he gathered his teenage employees in a huddle and excitedly asked them: “What can we do this week that we’ve never done before?” The kids loved the challenge. They started texting all their friends whenever a pizza special was on. They took the credit-card machine to the curb so passing motorists could buy pizza right off the street. They loaded up a truck with hot pizzas and sold them at high-school games. The money poured in and the store owner never had problems with employee turnover, says Covey, who is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
10. Stay calm.
An entrepreneur has to backstop the team from overreacting to short-term situations, says Mackay, who is based in Minneapolis. This is particularly important now, when news of the sour economic environment is everywhere.
“The media has been hanging black crepe paper since 2008,” he says. “But look at all the phenomenal companies and brands that were born in downturns, names like iPod, GE and Federal Express.”
The essence of the lucid dreaming experience is to have the mind awake while the body is asleep. If you search for advice on how to do this you’ll find plenty of people telling you to train yourself to do “reality checks” and keep a dream journal in the hopes of waking your mind while inside a regular dream. While this has some value, if you want quicker results you’ll have to follow a different approach. You’ll need to do what is known as a WILD, or Wake-Induced-Lucid-Dream. The trick is knowing how to do this effectively.
Inducing a WILD is much easier if you have a pre-sleep. Go through your day as usual, be active (physical exercise is helpful). Once you are tired, go to bed. Do not go to bed if you are not actually tired. Set an alarm for an hour and half. When the alarm wakes you, get up. It doesn’t matter how sleepy you feel, you’ll have to stay awake for about an hour. Take a cold shower if you have to, put on some music, just don’t go back to sleep. Once you have been awake for an hour, you will be in an ideal state to attempt this.
Set your alarm again for an hour and go back to bed. This is in case you fall asleep again, so you’ll have another chance to try. You will need to use an “induction routine”. This is simply something to keep your mind busy and focused internally while you wait for your body to fall asleep. If your mind starts drifting away from this, you will be able to notice and bring it back in focus. It can be anything, like remembering a song you are familiar with, or going through a predetermined cycle of visualizations, or repeating a mantra in your head, or even counting from 1 to 1,000. Take your focus away from your body and refrain from movement. If you have a consistent problem of falling back asleep, you may want to try putting on some background music, or using a timer setup that wakes you up every 5 to 20 minutes. The key to using a timer is to not move at all when the timer beep wakes you up.
You will know you are drifting into sleep once you notice some of the following:
- High quality images or sounds flashing through your mind. They may vanish in a split second, but feel very real.
- A constant buzzing that grows in volume. If you notice this, pay attention to it and focus on controlling its volume.
- Body vibrations.
At this point you should start focusing on imagining your desired dream scenario. Eventually you will suddenly find yourself inside it. Enjoy it while you can!
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